Decide whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor
Key facts
- Human involvement
- RedLawyer-led
- How AI is used
- From the contract and the facts the lawyer marks, fill a comparison under the headings on the whole-of-relationship page: control of how the work is done, financial responsibility and risk, tools and equipment, delegation or subcontracting, hours, and expectation that work will continue. Note the engaging entity's name and type, the dates of the work, and any opt-out document. Do not say whether the person is an employee or a contractor.
- What the lawyer must review
- Decide which test applies and write the conclusion. The tool's comparison is not the advice.
- Written for / version
- US
Open a jurisdiction version of this task to see which instruments apply: US
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Supporting preparation only. From the contract and the facts the lawyer marks, fill a comparison under the headings on the whole-of-relationship page: control of how the work is done, financial responsibility and risk, tools and equipment, delegation or subcontracting, hours, and expectation that work will continue. Note the engaging entity's name and type, the dates of the work, and any opt-out document. Do not say whether the person is an employee or a contractor. The tool writes nothing into the document. Substantive advice, judgement and any restricted content remain with the responsible human. |
| Lawyer | Perform the substantive analysis and decisions. Independently check any permitted supporting work and approve the exact output for its intended use. |
Checklist
- Record the entity type and the dates of the work before choosing a test.
- Take practical performance into account only where the whole-of-relationship test applies.
- Do not treat an ABN, an invoice or the job label as deciding status.
- Confirm no sentence from the tool is in the advice that is sent.
Sources
- Fair Work Ombudsman: Whole of relationship test · 2026-10-22
These are suggested working checks. Confirm the required checking with the responsible lawyer before work starts; the checking approach does not establish permission to use AI.
The whole-of-relationship page gives Fair Work Act 2009 sections 15AA to 15AB as its source line. The hub page gives sections 13 to 14, 15AA to 15AC, 30A to 30E, 30K to 30P and 357 to 359. The Act was not opened. The regulated-workers page was not opened. Employee-like digital platform work and road-transport contractors are outside this comparison.